Dreams in the Moonlight
by Storm Bringer
Summary: ...ah...er...Short and kinda sad (just like the summary)


  
  
Title: Dreams in the Moonlight  
  
Author: Storm Bringer  
  
Rating: PG (any sexual innuendo you get out of this is your imagination at   
work, not mine)  
  
Notes: This is my first fic (YAY FOR ME!) so don't expect anything too  
spectacular. No! Wait! Don't go! It's good, it's good, just not great.  
It's short so it won't take too much of your time and you can go   
somewhere else shortly. Anyway, any comments, criticism or bad  
jokes you might have can be sent to me at: the_storm_bringer@hotmail.com.  
Flames can be sent to: mad_dog@jailhouse.com. Remember to include   
your home phone number, your address, and a thorough description  
of yourself so that you can be properly thanked for your contribution.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters in this story do not belong to me. They belong to  
some other people that are not me. I am not the one who owns the   
characters in this story. They are not mine. Clear? Good.  
  
Lawyer Joke: You're trapped in a locked room with a hungry lion, a venomous  
snake, and a lawyer. You have a gun with only two bullets. What do you  
shoot? The lawyer...twice. Now on with the show!  
  
******  
  
The light of the full moon hanging high in the clear night sky  
bathed the city of Tokyo in pure silver fire. It filtered down through the  
treetops like a silent rain and turned the emtpy streets into glistening  
rivers of soft light. Objects caught in the light of the moon seemed to  
shine with brilliant auras and shadows lost their form, becoming shapeless  
gray masses that hunkered down away from the shimmering light.  
  
It was mid-summer and the coming of night had done little to dispel  
the smothering heat that pervaded the large city this time of year. Windows  
were flung open in a vain attempt to catch a stray breeze and cool the  
restless sleep of sweltering men, women, and children. The low hum of   
air-conditioners working overtime joined with the occasional bark of a dog  
and the shrill music of ever-present cicadas.   
  
A single beam of moonlight passed through an open window, edging  
through a gap in the curtains hanging limp in the still night air. It flashed  
through the velvety darkness of the room beyond and alighted softy,  
almost reverently on the face of the girl sleeping within. Eyes closed in  
sleep, her beautiful face was twisted with sorrow and pain, and sweat that  
had nothing to do with the heat dampened her golden locks and caused her  
face to shimmer with a wet sheen.  
  
Rolling onto her side, Usagi whimpered softly.  
  
The wall across from Usagi exploded inward, showering her with shards  
of stone and dust. She stared open mouthed as a dark, shapeless form passed  
through the hole it had created, locking her gaze with its ruby eyes. Those  
eyes seemed to contain all the anger and enmity that had ever existed in the  
world and it was all focused on her. Paralyzed with fear, she could do  
nothing but wonder if death would be swift and sure or slow and painful  
.  
Usagi tossed and turned on top of her blankets, her eyes squeezed  
tightly shut as though she could blot out what she was seeing in her mind.  
  
Onward came the darkness, making no sound and hardly seeming to move  
at all. It glided towards her on wings of night, wrapped in a cloak of despair.  
Usagi tried to call out, tried to find the strength to fight back. But against  
this she could do nothing. She was weak, as helpless as a newborn babe  
wrapped in swaddling clothes. A single tear born of terror and desperation  
ran down her cheek.  
  
Suddenly there were others with her, fighting against the encroaching  
darkness. A streak of gold, the crack of thunder, the sizzling of a mighty  
flame, and the cold surety of ice. They met the darkness head on and the  
sounds of battle echoed through the room breaking Usagi from her trance like  
stupor. Her friends were there fighting for her, bleeding for her, dying for  
her.  
  
Crying out, Usagi rolled onto her back and thrashed around wildly.  
  
An anguished cry rose above the tumult of battle followed shortly by  
another. The ice had been shattered, the flame snuffed. Usagi screamed then;  
screamed for her friends to run, to get as far from here as possible. They  
didn't listen though. The storm raged, the gold flashed, and the darkness  
bellowed, shaking the very foundation of the planet with its rancor filled  
cry. Then there was silence. An eerie all consuming silence that enshrouded  
the soul and tore at the heart.  
  
Tears streamed from beneath Usagi's closed lids.  
  
Warm liquid sloshed against Usagi's ankles, but she closed her eyes  
tightly and refused to look down. It rose, coming up to mid-calf and then to  
her knees, beckoning her to gaze upon her folly, her weakness. Opening her  
eyes she looked down upon the crimson river that churned sluggishly around  
her, tugging at her with currents that could never be seen, only felt. The  
river tugged and she let it take her, pull her down into its depths to enfold  
her in its warm embrace and carry her to her friends.  
  
Usagi came awake gasping for breath with tears streaming down  
her face. She sat there crying softly in the still darkness with the light of the  
moon illuminating her sweat soaked, tear stained face. Gazing around the  
room she was sleeping in with eyes half blinded by tears, she realized that  
it was not her home. Panic seized her for a second, but quickly abated as  
she caught sight of half recognized objects poking out of the shadows. She  
was sleeping in a shrine this night, a very familiar shrine.  
  
An arm encircled her waist, gently pulling her close to the body of  
another and Usagi felt the soft flesh of another woman against her back.  
Another hand appeared and stroked the side of her face. It felt suddenly as  
though a flame had enwrapped her. Not the kind of flame that seared or even  
warmed the flesh, but the kind that thawed the heart and chased the cold  
claws of darkness away.   
  
"Shhhh," whispered a soft voice. "Shhhh." Comfort stole over Usagi  
and her tears slowed. "Why are you crying, Usagi?"  
  
She put a face to the voice, then a name. "Rei?" she asked the  
darkness.  
  
"Yes, I'm here. Why are you crying? Did you have a bad dream?"  
  
Usagi nodded. "There was something…something evil and it was after  
me. I couldn't move, couldn't do anything to stop it." She sniffled. "Then you  
and the others came and fought for me and you…and you…" The tears were  
back and she couldn't stem their flow.  
  
Two hands took one of her own and held it tightly in a firm but  
loving grasp. Usagi shivered slightly as ice seemed to race along her body  
banishing the lingering heat of the day, but not harming the flame that  
burned at her back. Instead the fire and ice seemed to meld into one force  
that rippled through her body like a soothing balm. The silver light of the  
moon glinted off of blue hair causing it to shine in the darkness.  
  
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Usagi," comforted Ami. "We're here  
with you. We'll keep you safe."  
  
Usagi tried to smile, but she wasn't sure she succeeded. "Thank you  
Ami."  
  
"Go on," urged Rei in a soft voice.  
  
Usagi swallowed hard, choking back her tears. "All of you came and  
fought for me and you…and you all died. I was so scared I couldn't do  
anything but watch. I failed all of you." She hung her head in shame. "I'm so  
weak."  
  
The air suddenly seemed charged with electricity and there was the  
fragrant smell of fresh flowers and moist earth just after a spring shower.  
A hand cupped Usagi's chin and raised her head up, turning it slightly to  
the side. Green eyes flashed like emeralds in the darkness and she found  
herself drowning in the compassion that filled them. Here there was no death  
or pain or sorrow. Only a love that was indescribable and unconquerable.  
  
"You are not weak, Usagi," stated Makoto in a firm voice. "And as  
long as you live you will never fail us."   
  
"But I…"  
  
"A dream, nothing more."  
  
Usagi looked away from those two emeralds and found herself staring  
into two pools of blue framed by golden strands of hair. Minako took Usagi's  
head in both hands and leaned forward, brushing her lips lightly across Usagi's  
brow. It seemed then that molten gold flowed through her veins, coursing  
through her body in waves that crashed against her heart and showered  
her soul with drops of liquid light.  
  
Minako's breath was warm against Usagi's skin when she spoke. "Any  
of us would gladly throw down her life to ensure that you do not have to. It is as  
Makoto said, as long as you live you will never fail us."  
  
"But I could never ask any of you to die for me," protested Usagi in  
a voice choked with tears.  
  
Minako's smile seemed to illuminate the darkness. "You don't have to  
ask, Usagi. You never have to ask."   
  
Usagi didn't want her friends to die, especially not for her, but  
Minako's words were comforting somehow and she found that her tears had  
stopped. Rei eased her slowly back down onto her blankets and Usagi suddenly  
felt very sleepy. The horrible nightmare faded behind feelings of peace and  
contentment at her friend's presence. They surrounded her as she lay there,  
Makoto humming a soft lullaby that soothed her and set her mind drifting up  
into the sky as her eyes fluttered shut.  
  
"Sleep Usagi," whispered Ami. "It's all just a dream. Sleep and be  
well." Usagi thought she noted a hint of sadness in Ami's voice, but before  
she could ask about it she was fast asleep.  
  
******  
  
Dawn broke over Crystal Tokyo in a splendid display of flaming  
oranges and breath taking pinks. When the first rays of the sun struck the  
towers of the Crystal Palace they shattered in a brilliant display of light  
and color, and for a few moments it seemed as though the majestic structure  
was ablaze. The airy spires, towering parapets, and glistening walls of the  
palace lost none of their exquisite beauty when the scintillating colors  
died down, however. Instead it was as though one glorious sight had simply  
been replaced by another.   
  
The fiery ball burning on the horizon promised another scorching day,  
but the sublime majesty of the sunrise more than made up for such a small  
discomfort. At least, for those who had been awake to see it. Among those  
blessed few there was a woman who stood on one of the spacious balconies  
that jutted out from the Crystal Palace without actually seeming to interrupt  
the flowing perfection of its walls.  
  
She stood and watched the sunlight spread across the land as she had  
done everyday for the last three years. Watched as it slowly crept up a small  
grassy hill that lay at the tip of one of the cities five points. Watched as it  
fell across the elegantly crafted marble monument that topped that hill and  
was held in reverence by the entire population of Crystal Tokyo and maybe  
beyond. And, as had happened everyday for the last three years, a single  
tear fell to the stones at her feet.  
  
The monument had been carved by the finest artisans in the world and  
consisted of a round base upon which there were four angels, three standing  
and one kneeling. Their wings were folded against their backs and they stared  
out away from the city as though watching for approaching danger. The  
monument was carved from one piece of pearly white marble and the only  
color present was on the bronze plaque set into the base and the symbols  
etched into each angel's forehead. One blue, one red, one green, and one  
gold. Engraved on the plaque was a simple epitaph:  
  
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES TO ENSURE THAT  
THE LIGHT WOULD NEVER DIE.  
  
  
...Owari 


End file.
